Day of the Dead TATTOOS, Tradition, Food, Celebration, Culture, and Folk ART

November 2nd is celebrated as the Day of the dead particularly by the Mexican people. This day is set aside as a celebration of the lives of those loved ones who have passed. Altars are created to draw the spirits and souls of the dead home to visit those they left behind. This tradition has been distinguished for thousands of years.

Personally I find this ritual to be fascinating and I was curious to see how many of you out there had the same interest so I am encouraging all of you to share your experience with this holiday, any folk art you come across or anything at all related to this Mexican Tradition.


History:Dia de los Muertos

This is my Day of the dead

This is my day of the dead inspired sugar skull of my favorite Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.


Using molds people make sugar skulls, painting them with bright colors to represent those who have passed on.

Sugar SkullsSugar Skulls

Memorial tattoos can be personal but I find those done in the day of the dead style to be full of life and very beautiful.

Here is one I found while surfing the net. Feel free to share your or any Day of the dead style tatt you find.

DEAD MAN'S BREAD

( 30 Pieces)

7 1/2 cups // 1k sifted FLOUR

2 cups // 400g SUGAR plus additional for dusting

1 cup + 2 tablespoons // 250g Veg-Shortening OR BUTTER

2 packages active dry YEAST dissolved in 5 tablespoons of warm WATER

12 small EGGS

1 tablespoon LARD

2 teaspoons ground CINNAMON

2 teaspoons VANILLA extract

1/2 cup // 125ml MILK

Mound the flour on the counter or in a bowl and make a well in the center. place sugar, butter, yeast, eggs, lard, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk in the well. work into a dough and knead until the dough pulls away from the counter. if the dough is too soft knead in more flour. shape into a ball, grease and flour it lightly, and palce in a greased bowl. let stand in a warm place for 2 1/2 hours, or untill doubled. cover with a towel and refrigerate overnight.

shape the dough into balls the size of a peace. decorate the tops with strips of dough to look like bones. Place the rolls on greased baking sheet and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or untill doubled in bulk. dut with sugar and bake in a 350*F//175*C preheated oven for 30 minutes, or untill bottoms sound hollow when tapped.

*** Recipe found in the book tittled " Frida's Fiestas ' Recipes and Reminiscences of a life with Frida Kahlo" ***




More Day of the Dead history

Folk Art
Hand made paper mini-roses





Bride and Groom



I hope all this will spark some discussion in those interested in the day of the dead so we can all share and learn about an awesome festival to honor life.

Day of the Dead is on my "To do before I die" list.

my family celebrates Dia de los Muertos every year. we cook breads and leave out candies, fruits, little toys, juices and alcohol. our altars stay up all year.

this isn't specifically a "Day of the Dead" tattoo, but it sort of has the same feeling behind it. i got this done about a year and a half ago.

nice! mine too.



i have been planning a 'day of the dead' themed tattoo with my artist on and off for years now, but since he's in jersey and i am not, it's going to be a while.

Dove I love the tatt

Hah, I totally thought this was gonna be a Romero thread.

i want a sugar skull tat sooooooo bad. my whole kitchen has day of the dead stuff all over it. it is my current obsession. i think it is so beautiful and colorful.

Mine, one on each shoulder, I should get a better picture.

i've been collecting dia de los muertas stuff for a few years, i'm running out of room! will try and post some of it but my camera is dead at the minute

Mexico is full of life and tradition art and beautyfood and religion

can anyone share some art, photography, food,culture or a story...
in honor of the day of the dead or simply of mexico

has any one out in SG Land ever payed a visit to mexico during the day of the dead?

I would love to hear a story or see some amazing photos.


Viva

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These are some pics of our Day of the Dead statues.
They are about 2.5 feet tall. There's another picture that shows the whole shelf they're on. I'm going to try to find it.
Enjoy!

Here it is!

BabieDoll, have you ever seen / played the PC game Grim Fandango? It's set in a "land of the dead" of Mexican folklore. It's an older game you can probably pick up for less than 10 bucks now, but incredibly fun. A bit dated, but the voice acting and art design are amazing.

I just love the pregers lady very cute

ThisisWhoWeAre no i havet heard of this came but i will look it up sounds awesome thanks !!!!!!!!

Magic8ball: "heres a few of my pieces - my favourites are the tree of life/death and the little skeleton mariachi band.. i've a few more but i didn't want to clutter up your comments section with thousands of pictures!

how did your obsession come about? "

one of my favorite games ever!

"Babie Doll : My obsession with the day of the dead started the moment I heard about it. Since I was very young I found South American cultures to be awe inspiring. The older I get and the more I learn the more I love the Spanish traditions. Since I discovered Frida kahlo ive been paying more attention to MEXICO and im hooked... The day of the dead to me is a perfect example on how we as human beings should look at life. And those who know about the day of the dead understand that life and death are part of the cycle of life and life in general should be celebrated. I think the Mexican people do a more than awesome job with their fiestas for dia de los muerto it's simply beautiful.

Good movie.

I love this holiday! It is so fascinating! And one day while surfing for baby clothes for my nephew I found this MySpace with CUTE Dia de los Muertos baby stuff! Thought I would share it with you, BabieDoll.